On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability on Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Maryland residents who live with disabilities know how challenging it can be. Not only is it often difficult to manage your disability in a world that is not tailored for your needs, but the social aspects of being disabled can weigh heavy on some people. Maybe you feel like people treat you differently because you have an illness, or you notice people staring at your physical disability. Either way, unwanted attention or awkward situations can make daily life difficult.
Fortunately, there are many advocates for people with disabilities who make it their goal to show the world that a disability doesn't have to affect your social life. The woman who was crowned Miss Iowa and will compete for the Miss America title in September has lived with a disability her entire life and is making it her goal to advocate for people with disabilities through her pageant experience.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability Benefits for Mental Conditions on Wednesday, June 5, 2013
When someone struggles with a mental illness, their entire family may need to step in to help them. Some illnesses are very hard to control, and can result in unpredictable behavior. A recent story in The Washington Post chronicled the minute-by-minute life of a young man living with schizophrenia.
This illness is often associated with hallucinations and people don't understand the extent to which it can affect a person's life. This young man's illness started at a very young age, when he thought that his classmates were constantly whispering about him in class. Ten years later, he was diagnosed with early stages of the mental condition schizophrenia, which was later revised to schizoaffective disorder, bipolar subtype with obsessive-compulsive elements.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability on Friday, May 31, 2013
Disabilities are often viewed in a certain way by people who aren't suffering from a type of disability. Many people think about disability as a physical problem, but a new art exhibit in another state is showing that all types of disabilities can affect each person differently. Whether a person suffers from a physical or mental disability, they are perceived by society differently.
The exhibit tries to demonstrate the perceptions surrounding disability because the artists were not nececssarily disabled themselves, as is common with exhibits tackling disability. At the same time it tried to focus on the language that peopel use when talking about disabilities.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability on Thursday, May 23, 2013
A new project announced by the federal government this week aims at better preparing children who receive Supplemental Security Income for long-term educational and employment opportunities. Those who receive SSI as children often continue to receive it as adults. People who receive SSI benefits are often capable of working, but might need additional assistance or resources in obtaining employment. Having a disability doesn't mean a person doesn't want to work.
The new initiative called Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income, otherwise known as PROMISE, hopes to fund states that are selected to participate with $10 million per year for five years to help achieve better employment and educational standards for children with disabilities.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Veterans' Issues on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Some veterans who have filed disability claims in the past year have probably noticed on thing. They still haven't heard from the Department of Veterans Affairs with a decision on their claim. This is probably the result of an extremely large backlog of claims in the entire VA system.
As of this week, there were a reported 843,000 claims pending with the VA for disability benefits with more than two-thirds of the claims pending for over 125 days. That number will hopefully start to decline rapidly throughout the rest of the fiscal year, as the Department of Veterans Affairs has mandated the use of overtime for it's 10,000 processing staff to eliminate the backlog of claims.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability on Thursday, May 9, 2013
Over the past decade, the number of children that were reported as being disabled has increased by more than 16 percent. The most recent data from the National Health Interview Survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, doesn't say specifically why there was such a drastic increase over the last 10 years.
The survey only referenced children under the age of 17, and researchers found that while physical disabilities declined, the number of reported neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions increases. This could be caused by an increase in awareness and diagnosis of developmental disabilities such as autism.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Veterans’ Issues on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq millions of veterans have returned home, many with disabilities of some kind. There are many types of disabilities that veterans can suffer from, including mental and physical disabilities.
According to reports, almost a million veterans have disability claims that are waiting to be responded to with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The report highlights how long it is taking for many veterans to hear back about claims for disability benefits. While many call the VA trying to find more information, they often are thanked for their service, but hang up without any useful information about their claim.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Administrative law judges typically hear cases of people who file claims for Social Security disability payments throughout the country. Right here in Frederick, people might have difficulty understanding the Social Security system, and judges around the country are now calling the system "in crisis." According to reports, a group of judges have filed a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration, saying that their workload is too high.
Although an article about the lawsuit claims that since their workload is too high, they might too often rule in favor of a person filing a claim, they could also deny people who should receive benefits because they don't carefully consider the case. This lawsuit demonstrates how delicate claims with the Social Security Administration can be.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Veterans’ Issues on Thursday, April 18, 2013
With more female military members in recent conflicts than any other point in our nation's history, there has been an increase in the number of woman facing disabilities from their service. Many of the women in the armed forces face similar combat injuries to their male counterparts; however, women are disproportionately affected by military sexual trauma (MST).
An increase in sexual assaults of women in the military can add to the already traumatic experienced of military service that results in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The link between MST and PTSD has prompted action by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to handle these cases through special procedures for veterans to make disability claims.
On behalf of Alan J. Nuta, Attorney at Law posted in Social Security Disability Benefits For Illness on Thursday, April 11, 2013
Measurement of body functions and brain activity is becoming more common with developments in wearable technology. Devices that are often worn on the wrist are being used to measure how much sleep a person is getting, and their daily activity and stress levels. All of this is done through contact with the person's skin. Recently, scientist made a discovery of a potential use for this wearable technology by mistake.
A wearable wrist device on a small boy was acting up in a study by MIT researchers. At least they thought it was acting up. After further research, they discovered that the technology was actually detecting 100 percent of epileptic seizures through changes in the skin. This is a giant leap forward in being able to detect when a seizure might occur. Before only invasive technology was able to detect seizures, which are a condition that might qualify an individual for Social Security disability benefits.
